Mid-Week at Sundance
Sundance is half over. Or, technically, anyway. In reality, the first five days are the hardest hitting and figuratively comprise 80% of the entire Festival. It’s during the first half that Park City is completely taken over by the Festival and all its components: celebrities, branding, parties, lounges, gifting, see-and-be-seen, red carpets, and, of course, films. Our little mountain town becomes a 24-hour-a-day soiree and, when you’re trying to cover as much as possible, it’s exhausting. The hours are exhausting, getting to the far-apart locations is exhausting, standing in the corners of lounges & parties looking for ‘who’s there’ is exhausting, duking it out in the photog pit at the red carpets is exhausting, carrying our gear is exhausting — even feeling negligent about all the parties/events/lounges you’re missing gets exhausting.
The second half is a little more a la carte, shall we say. The events are scheduled in more manageable timelines, the parties are more intimate & casual, and the majority of tourists have headed home in droves. The media is still here, but with fewer reps from the same outlets, so the press presence doesn’t feel so overwhelming.
What I’m saying is: even though we’re halfway into the festival calendar-wise, we’re more like 4/5ths through since the major coverage is behind us. So, basically, today I was able to take my first deep breath and feel good about the coverage I’ve managed so far. I’m photographing for Salt Lake magazine, which has been interesting because the big outlets treat me like a moron (I won’t name names, but there are some huge national publications, image services, and television shows at the Festival, and my mag is, in their eyes, super small potatoes). And, you know what? Shame on them. I’m grateful for my affiliation with Salt Lake, and I’m honored that a thriving magazine (which is saying a lot in this digital day & age) asked me to represent them at something as massive as Sundance. We’re not trite, gossipy, or paparazzi-style crap, and we’re true & loyal to our audience in Utah; and that makes me proud.
I look forward to compiling some behind-the-mania stories for future posts — that is, if you’re not too Sundance’d-out! If you follow my Facebook Page, you’re probably already sick of my Sundance updates :).
My Salt Lake coverage posted:
Robert Redford Day One Press Conference
Red Carpet Coverage for Anne Hathaway’s Song One
Red Carpet Coverage for Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Rachel McAdams’ A Most Wanted Man
Red Carpet Coverage for Zach Braff & Kate Hudson’s Wish I Were Here
Launch Party for Big Air Studios; hosted by Creative Coalition, sponsored by Oracle
VIP Casino Night and Celebrity Poker Tournament
